Save for a stretch of 4 minutes and 3 seconds in the second period, the Adrian College men’s hockey team gave NCAA Division I opponent Bowling Green all it could handle on Friday night. But the visiting Bulldogs couldn’t overcome three unanswered goals that turned a 1-0 deficit into four goals down on the way to a 6-2 loss at the hands of the Falcons.
Freshmen Ryan Butler and Connor May scored for the Bulldogs. Junior Zach Goberis was credited with a pair of assists. Classmate Sam Ruffin, who got on the scoresheet with an assist, led AC in face-off wins (7) and attempts (18). Senior goaltender Cameron Gray (1-1) posted a career-high 40 saves.
Max Johnson led BGSU with a pair of goals. Brandon Kruse added a goal and an assist for two points. Alex Barber also had a two-point night on two assists. Taylor Schneider, who scored a goal, led all centermen with 13 face-off wins and 24 draws.
Leading just 1-0 after one period, BG struck for three goals in a 4:03 to start the second period and go up by a commanding 4-0 score after 40 minutes. Kruse scored unassisted just 40 seconds into the period while Johnson on the power play and Schneider connected back-to-back 17 seconds apart.
FALCONS / BULLDOGS BROADCAST INFO:
Non-Conference Regular Season Game
Bowling Green State University Falcons @ Adrian College Bulldogs
Date: Saturday, November 21st | Time: 7:05 pm ET
Location: Arrington Ice Arena – Adrian, Michigan
TV: Adrian College Television | Radio: 107.9 WVAC-FM, 103.9 WLEN-FM
Butler got Adrian on the scoreboard at 2:55 to begin the third period. He was assisted by Goberis and junior Grant Baetsen. After Connor Ford restored the Falcons’ four-goal lead at 4:22, May made it 5-2 at the 10:45 mark as the Bulldogs were on the power play. Ruffin and Goberis assisted on the play.
Less than four minutes later, Johnson rounded out the scoring for both teams. Bowling Green had a 46-20 advantage in shots on goal, including a 20-5 margin in the key second stanza. The Falcons were 1-for-6 with the man-advantage while the Bulldogs were 1-for-5.
This marked Adrian’s second-ever meeting versus a Division I foe as the Bulldogs defeated Alabama-Huntsville on the road, 4-2 on Jan. 4, 2013.
Adrian sees its 15-game overall winning streak–tied for the second-longest in NCAA Division III with Endicott and behind Utica (20 wins in a row)–come to an end. That was the program’s longest since the 2017-18 squad reeled off 16 in a row.
May leads the Bulldogs in goals (4) and point-scoring (5).
The Bulldogs and Falcons are also scheduled to play in Adrian to complete the home-and-home series next Saturday at Arrington Ice Arena. Puckdrop is 7:05 p.m. (This game was originally slated for Dec. 5.)
This article is largely a repost of an Adrian College press release. For more sports, news and entertainment, follow the Midwest Sports Network on Twitter @MWSNsports or like the MWSN page on Facebook.
